These protests are a little scarier since American funds Egypt much more than Tunisia (including $1.3 billion in annual military aid). If the Egyptian government decides to fight back, they’ll be using firearms paid for by America to fire into a crowd.

Egypt is ranked 138th of 167 countries on The Economist‘s Democracy index, a widely accepted measure of political freedom. That ranking puts Egypt just seven spots ahead of Tunisia. And Egyptians are significantly poorer than their cousins to the west.

I’ve been planning on doing a wikileaks post for a long time now, and it’s reached its boiling point. So here it goes…

Wikileaks raises incredibly concerning issues for society. This is the first time in history where we as a culture must look at our government’s secret actions, which IS all for the preservation of our society, in the face. Even if it means murder, theft, and bullying. What do we do? What CAN we do?

For one thing, we can help Bradley Manning, who is the soldier who allegedly leaked this video a couple years ago by copying to a CD and smuggling it out of Afghanistan by labeling it as a Lady Gaga album. This started it all for wikileaks in American mainstream media. Be warned, it’s kinda hard to watch

“U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, the 22-year old shouldering blame for leaking the U.S. Embassy Cables, spends his days pacing and sleeping, which he does on a prison bed with no pillow or blanket since the guards at the Marine Brig in Quantico, VA took his away. He isn’t allowed to exercise. In general, Manning’s detention seems designed to break his will and his humanity in maximum security lockdown. For 23 out of the 24 hours each day Manning is alone. Without any record of misbehavior or disciplinary issues, he’s been deemed a “Maximum Custody Detainee.” That designation means Manning’s been in solitary confinement since he entered Quantico. And here’s the kicker: Private Manning remains un-convicted of a single crime. He’s been accused of leaking classified document to Wikileaks, but after five months of solitary and some time spent in a Kuwaiti prison, the 22-year old is still being held on accusations alone. As long as the Department of Justice’s investigation is pending, he’ll be held at Quantico indefinitely.”